Blood of the Dragon
by Mononoke-hime x sukai kurora
Summary: Jon Snow, the Lord Commmander of the Night's Watch, has died. Between life and death, he meets someone important to his past and reveals secrets that caused the lies since his birth. Will he finally die or will Jon rise again? Set after "A Dance with Dragons."


_Blood of the Dragon_

Jon Snow felt as if he was flying. He felt parted from his body. _"Why…?" _He had asked his men. Even now he didn't know why his men had wanted to kill him. _"For the Wall." _He heard their voices in his ear. Jon Snow was Lord Commander of the Night's Watch when his men had turned on him and pierced his body with knives. Some of them, he recalled, were crying. Some of them were determined. Some of them were disgusted. The Night's Watch was supposed to take no part in the realm's wars and the like. However, King Stannis had provided aid to the brothers in black when they needed it most. No one else had come to their aid. Without King Stannis, the Wall would have fallen. Jon had given the king council, treading on thin ice. For over a thousand years, the Wall had not involved itself in the affairs of kings and politics. _"I have no sister." _Jon heard himself again. He heard the frozen pain in his voice when he declared that Arya Stark was not his kin. The Wall had no brothers or kin except the ones they rode with, the ones they feasted with, and the ones they slept with. Still, Jon Snow couldn't let it go.

He remembered the letter that Ramsy Bolton had written. _Bastard, your false king is dead… Your false king's friends are dead… I want my bride back… _He had threatened the Wall. And Jon had tried to stop him. He tried to stop the death by making peace with the wildlings. He tried everything he could to stop the suffering on them. In the end, he was the one who had died, killed by his own men because they could not forget. They could not forget their hatred for the wildlings, the war, Qhorin Halfhand, and their vows. Jon heard their whispers. His men thought he was a turncloak, a warg, and a wildling himself. He was a bastard. They doubted his loyalty, even after they voted him to be the leader. Jon Snow didn't blame them; he knew they had a right to suspect him, but he ignored it. In the end, that had cost him his life. Had he been a good Commander? Jon wasn't certain. He had broken the Night Watch's vows to not take part, but he did it on good intentions. For thousands of years the Others had not come, with giants, weapons, and wildlings. Perhaps, Jon thought, the Wall's isolation and indifference was finished. He suspected that the last Commander, Old Bear, had felt the same. And now both of them shared the same fate. Both of them had been assassinated by their men, and both of them had fallen in the snow.

Jon Snow didn't know where he was. He couldn't see; he was blinded by the white. Slowly, Jon was able to see. The former Commander was clouded in white. Snow wasn't falling. He walked, his boots echoing in his ears. The crow was not on his shoulder. His sword, Longclaw, was not in his hand. Ghost was not by his side. He remembered that was his last words. _"Ghost…" _Jon had called for his direwolf, only to be answered with nothingness and cold. Where was he? Was he dead?

Jon suddenly felt his body become warm. It was startling. Heat flowed through his veins, withering the cold in his body away. He shuddered, from the intensity of it. His scar on his hand pulsed. _I could have died that day, _Jon thought. He had just joined the Night's Watch then, only fourteen years old. He had saved Lord Commander Mormont from being slayed from the white walker. _My loyalty is always to the Night's Watch._

"Jon." He heard his name. Turning around, he saw a beautiful woman before him. Her long dark hair came down to her shoulders. Her eyes were grey, his face long, and her smile…her smile echoed Jon's own. Their smiles were exactly alike. Jon had a sudden memory of listening to his father, Lord Eddard Stark, telling him about his brother and sister who were lost during Robert's Rebellion as a boy. His brother's name had been Brandon Stark, and his sister's…

"Aunt Lyanna." Jon's voice enveloped into a whisper. He had heard his father talk about his beloved sister sometimes to Arya. Looking at his aunt, he had a sudden thought that Arya would look exactly like her when she reached the same age. _If she's alive._

"Jon." Lyanna's voice was a mere whisper as well. He was shocked of how she looked at him with such love and fondness in her gaze. Before he could move, Jon felt her arms around him. "Oh, my Jon." She held him tight for a second and then let him go. Jon looked her in the eye, and was shocked to find how much they looked alike. He had her eyes as well as her smile. There was a sudden sadness in her eyes. "Jon, I am your mother."

Her words struck Jon like a blow. For a second he couldn't breathe. Lyanna's form blurred before him, and he had a sudden memory of asking his father about his mother. But he hadn't expected this. He hadn't expected that… He forced himself to look at Lyanna Stark, his mother, and asked, "Who…is my father?"

"Rheager Targaryen."

Jon couldn't speak. The dragon prince was his father? Emotions raveled in his head. He remembered all the stares and whispers people had followed him all his life. He remembered Catelyn Tully's cold stare and Sansa's cool courtesy. He remembered Arya's anger and Bran's confusion. His father's…no, Lord Stark's pain. Everyone, including himself, thought that Jon Snow was the bastard son of Eddard Stark. His breath remained in his throat and he closed his eyes. Jon suddenly felt cold again. "Why…?" He choked. "Why did he lie to me?"

"My brother promised me that he would keep you safe." Jon suddenly felt his mother's tender touch on his face. He opened his eyes, and saw that her eyes were filled with remorse and grief. "He promised that he would never let anyone know who you truly were. It was too dangerous." She sighed. "Rheager Targaryen didn't kidnap me, as history tells. We ran away together and then we lied together. You were conceived. Your father had to go back King's Landing to face a war that had started from a misunderstanding. I only remembered the pain as you came, Jon." Jon watched his mother as she cupped his face in her hand. "I remember you as you came out, red and squalling." She bit her lip. "I…was happy to see that you had inherited my grey eyes and dark hair. Rheager was always with me until he died. I knew I would be with him soon, and I…made my brother promise me that no one would know of your lineage. The new king would surely kill you. I couldn't even hold you, my only son. I'm sorry."

His mother's tears slipped down his face. Jon was silent. His mother's tale had left him breathless. The fog that had ensnared his mind was drifting away, and he vaguely recalled of how Lord Eddard Stark would tell him and his…cousins to not mention the dragon prince during his stay at Winterfell. Jon realized that Lord Stark had made a huge sacrifice for him. For telling Catelyn Tully that he was his bastard, and swallowing his lie to honor his sister's last request and secret. He protected Jon all he could.

"My uncle…truly was brave." Jon's voice echoed in his ears. He sounded sad.

"Yes, my brother was truly brave. As was your father, as are you." His mother smiled at him.

"Mother…" Jon stopped. The word was foreign on his tongue. "Mother, I am dead."

Lyanna Stark shook her head. "No, you are not dead my son. You have the blood of the dragon and have the blood of the First Men." She gave a sudden laugh. "We do not die easily. Say your words to me again."

Jon knew what she meant. She wanted to hear his vows that he had said from the Night's Watch.

"Night gathers, and now my watch begins. It shall not end until my death. I shall take no wife, hold no lands, father no children. I shall wear no crowns and win no glory. I shall live and die at my post. I am the sword in the darkness. I am the watcher on the walls. I am the fire that burns against the cold, the light that brings the dawn, the horn that wakes the sleepers, the shield that guards the realms of men. I pledge my life and honor to the Night's Watch, for this night and all nights to come."

Vaguely, he heard his mother saying that she was proud of him as he faded into unconsciousness.

Jon awoke to find his body covered in snow. Crimson coated his black cloak, and he found Mormont's crow pecking at his face. _"Snow, Snow!" _Jon faintly smiled, and then grimaced. Blood smeared on his hands and he struggled to stand. He groped for something, anything, and found snow in his hands. Suddenly, Ghost's eyes appeared before him. Red eyes met grey, and Jon found himself slipping. He was too weak. Suddenly, he fingered Ghost's coat and held on. He was able to stand up now. Mormont's crow was in the sky, shouting his name. _I'm not finished. _Jon managed to take a step. He took another, and found himself shakily walking to his men. To his brothers, the men of the Night's Watch. _I am the 998__th__ Lord Commander of the Night's Watch. Son of Rheager Targaryen and Lyanna Stark. I have the blood of the dragon and the blood of the First Men. I am a man of the Night's Watch. I will always be._


End file.
